This invention relates to a tank turret shaker designed to oscillate a conventional turret in pitch and roll planes. The turret thus is caused to undergo stresses similar to those experienced when a complete tank traverses rough terrain at high or medium speeds and high acceleration/deceleration rates. The shaker may be used to test the structural integrity of equipment (computers, range finders, etc.) mounted in the turret.
Use of a turret shaker is advantageous compared to actual testing of a complete tank on a proving ground in that the shaker can be automatically programmed and left unattended on a round-the-clock basis, thereby accelerating a given test sequence. The shaker can be programmed to achieve a pre-specified test; that test can be precisely repeated in a fashion not possible when a human driver attempts to run a tank over a test track at pre-specified speeds. Comparative test data can be obtained without degradation of a proving ground facility or change in the terrain profile due to degeneration of the terrain.
A principal object of the present invention is to provide a turret shaker that can withstand high stresses associated with rapid oscillation of a turret weighing in the neighborhood of ten tons. Another object is to provide a relatively large size shaker that can be fabricated without close manufacturing tolerances or excessive dimensional control accuracy. A further object is to provide a shaker that is relatively light and has a relatively low moment of inertia.